The critically acclaimed EdFringe 2017 improvised solo comedy about your crazy life returns! From the New York City comic who brought you the EdFringe hits "Desperately Seeking the Exit" and "Late with Lance!" **** 'Hilarious!' (Broadway Baby), ***** 'Show Up stands out!' (Fringe Guru), **** 'Brilliant laughs!' (The Wee Review), 'Unforgettable!' (Sick of the Fringe), ***** 'Enough energy to light up the entirety of the Counting House!' (Bunbury Magazine), 'Wonderful! A true professional!' (Scotsman)

Peter Michael Marino turns one-man show on its head and makes it all about you.Billed as a one-man show “about your shite life”, Show Up subverts the clichés and tropes you might expect from a solo performance. Creator and performer Peter Michael Marino is practically a Fringe veteran. Previous shows include the critically lauded Desperately Seeking the Exit and Late with Lance, so at this point Marino knows how to work the crowd.Show Up is really two or three (or four) experiences in one. The set begins with Marino unfolding the origins of the show and he is immediately frank and honest about himself and the mindset that drives his work; this improv show isn’t just fun and fluff. The performer is direct about his own social anxieties and experiences with depression, drawing on personal memories to engage and provoke us. But this is never morose or self-pitying. The comic consistently punches out jokes, even at his own expense and has us cackling. We subsequently dip into audience participation and this is what informs the crux of the show. We are now the co-writers, creating the next act as we are probed for information from Marino about crucial memories and life moments – preferably funny or heinous, sometimes both at the same time. Of course this often results in hilarious combinations as the audience calls out their suggestions.And then the show really begins. Crowd members are also recruited as sound technicians and stage managers, given free will to design the improv show’s set and atmosphere, which Marino skilfully navigates with ease at the change of each scene. Today’s show involves a dancer who lives with autism and a taxidermied cat who discovers a talent for personal training. It’s bizarre, manic and hilarious. And every other performance during the run will produce an entirely new and wacky mini-play.It is during this main section of the show that it becomes clear Marino isn’t just skilled with standup and audience banter. He is also a compelling actor, drawing us in with moments that are funny, ridiculous and even poignant at times. And Marino’s key strength is his seemingly endless energy, making The Counting House’s Lounge space feel like a packed theatre.Show Up provides brilliant laughs and is worth repeat visits to fully appreciate its ever-changing nature. However, it also channels an optimistic message to the audience about seizing opportunities and ‘showing up’ to your own life. Click Here

August 5, 2018The List

Loveable solo improv that's cut with sadnessPeter Michael Marino's Show Up is a dizzying and intimate hour of improvisation and audience participation that touches on heavy subjects like social anxiety, personal journeys and failure. The premise of the show is based on a belief that if you show up you've already won, making the set feel somewhat like a therapy session.Before the improv begins, Marino shares warm anecdotes from his life, like the time he wrote the flop Blondie musical (bizarrely based on a Madonna film), the depression and anxiety that followed this failure, and the stand-up show that spawned from his break-down. It's then over to the audience to share their life stories by reacting to cues such as work, family and addiction. Once the answers come through, Marino uses the prompts to create a brand new life story, with a little help from his crowd as stage managers.This jovial improv is spirited and natural, but there are moments when the jokes about mental illness become extremely sombre (like when Marino lists names of entertainers who have suffered). Overall though it's a fun hour, with each audience in the run getting a completely different experience. Click Here

June 2, 2018City Beat Cincinnati

A tour-de-force of improvisation!

Marino’s sly introduction about having no idea what’s to come is the trope of this highly entertaining performance. Don’t be fooled: Marino knows exactly what he’s doing. He and those in attendance have fun, because it’s very much about audience participation as Marino assembles a laugh-out-loud solo performance. Remember “Mad Libs” in which a participant fills in blanks that result in a disjointed but amusing story? Marino has advanced this approach to a high art. Click Here

August 18, 2017Fringe Guru

Well worth showing up to

"Show Up" stands out! Marino's ultimate message is that even when we're not ready for what the world throws at us, the first step is just to carry on. Click Here

August 11, 2017Broadway Baby

Marino has created a unique hour of entertainment

Hilarious! Marino has created a unique hour of entertainment by taking the overplayed solo show format and fashioning an improvised comedy routine that works all the better for the audience’s connection to the source material. Click Here

August 8, 2017The Wee Review

Peter Michael Marino turns one-man show on its head and makes it all about you

Subverts the clichés and tropes you might expect from a solo performance. A compelling actor, drawing us in with moments that are funny, ridiculous and even poignant at times. Click Here